June 1–6: Twitter Party

Like last year, we’ll have a Twitter party leading up to #pg70pit. Use the hashtag #70pit17 to participate. Have any great ideas for topics? Comment below, or jump on the tag like a vigilante and go for it. Note: due to an urgent family situation, I am not leading the Twitter party this year. But please have fun on the #70pit17 tag! I’ll still be available to answer questions and am taking the day off on the 7th for the submission day.

June 7: Submission Date

The submission form—just one this year!—will go live at LaraWillard.com/blog at 7:00 a.m. EST on June 7, 2017, and will be removed at 7:00 a.m. June 8th, 2017.

TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TWITTER CONTEST, tweet your 7-word description—just once, and pinned to your profile—on June 7th with both the hashtag #pg70pit* and the hashtag of your age category: #A #YA or #MG. You can post at any time on the 7th; no one will be able to cross-check Tweets with entries, so you’ll stay anonymous.

*Use the year-specific hashtag #70pit17 for all other tweets about the contest

June 7–15: Twitter Contest

Favorite and/or quote-RT * any 7-word descriptions you like from June 7th to June 15th. This is a great way to meet other writers in the online community!

To be eligible for the Twinner contest, you must choose seven—just 7!—of your favorite 7-word descriptions and retweet them—without quote-retweeting* them.

Encourage your friends who aren’t participating to like or retweet your 7-word description. If you’re participating, though, you may only retweet seven contest tweets. Like or quote-RT* the others. Your seven total retweets can be from any age category.

If you don’t retweet 7 of your fellow participants, you can still try your luck in the lottery, but you won’t be eligible for one of the 7 Twinner spots.

We’ll choose the 7 Twinners from the ones with the most RTs, the ones with the most likes, and some of our favorites from the tweet content itself.

June 17: Twinners and Lottery Winners Announced

July 17–July 31: Find CPs while We Read

Didn’t get into the lottery? I’ll post on my blog an opportunity for you to find a CP, if you’d like.

Judges will read and score all of the 77 entries for each age category. Follow along on the #pg70pit tag for insight and teasers. I will rate each entry on my @LaraEdits account, like I tend to do, and other slushies and judges are encouraged to do the same. We don’t always agree, which is why I’m not the only judge!

July 7: Agent Round

The top 7-scoring entries for each age category will be posted on my blog for agents to read and request from. In the event of a tie, I’ll call in another slush reader or two, confer with them, and then make my decision that way. If we REALLY can’t decide, we might look into the entries that didn’t make it into the lottery. No promises.

In 2017, I’m hosting the third annual pg70pit, a totally unique type of contest and pitching opportunity for writers with complete, polished novels (Middle Grade, YA, or NA/Adult) in any genre except erotica.

This summer, I’m changing things up a bit to make it more easier on me and on participating agents, while still offering fun opportunities for participating writers. Find out more after the jump.